Hero by Katie Buckley review – fearless study of female desire
The British author’s debut novel pulls no punches in a feminist interrogation of women as archetypes in myths and fairytales
In brief: May Our Joy Endure; The Future of the Novel; Literature for the People – review
A sharp satire set in the world of architecture; a fresh take on present-day fiction; and the rags-to-riches history of the Macmillan publishing brothers
Get In by Patrick Maguire and Gabriel Pogrund review – behind the scenes with Morgan McSweeney, Labour’s arch strategist
This is a rattlingly good tale of a modern-day Machiavelli that ascribes credit for Labour’s journey to power not to Keir Starmer, but to his Irish chief of staff
The World After Gaza by Pankaj Mishra review – legacies of violence
The shadow of colonialism looms large in this erudite yet flawed analysis of the Gaza war and Israel’s place in the world
Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico review – an object lesson in hollow hipsterism
An expat couple carefully curate their lives through plants and Radiohead LPs in this deliciously pessimistic chronicle of gentrifying Berlin
The best science fiction, fantasy and horror – reviews roundup
Old Soul by Susan Barker; Model Home by Rivers Solomon; Mother of Serpents by John R Gordon; Symbiote by Michael Nayak; Waterblack by Alex Pheby
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier review – gaslighting and grief
Actor Holliday Grainger narrates Du Maurier’s dark study of suppressed desire and tragedy
The Boy from the Sea by Garrett Carr review – a tale of hope in rural Ireland
A baby washes up in a barrel in this warm-hearted and surprising debut
Silent Catastrophes by WG Sebald review – academic writing at its most sterile
A collection of professional leftovers that can only diminish the posthumous reputation of a master of high literature
Joan Lindsay by Brenda Niall review – a poignant biography of the Picnic at Hanging Rock author
Lindsay was 71 when her gothic classic was published. A new book unearths the winding, often thwarted creative endeavours of her life – and delights in her late success
The Naming of the Birds by Paraic O’Donnell review – Victorian gothic
The pursuers become the pursued in this tale of vulnerable children, society murders and an irascible detective
I Want to Talk to You by Diana Evans review – sparkling essays
In this invigorating collection the novelist takes in Jean Rhys, James Baldwin, and how real life makes it into fiction
We Do Not Part by Han Kang review – a masterpiece from the Nobel laureate
One woman’s quest, told through haunting, harrowing, dreamlike imagery, bears witness to Korea’s traumatic past
Mothers and Sons by Adam Haslett review – secrets and solitude
An estranged mother and son confront their past, in the new novel from the author of Union Atlantic
Love in Exile by Shon Faye review – lessons in romance
Is heartbreak all capitalism’s fault? Faye mixes the personal and political in this exposing but generous memoir